Lugubrious
by InvaderVel
Summary: Begins with the typical 'Zim finds out he's exiled' then shows the course of his life over 15 years as he tries to make a life and home for himself on Earth. It will contain angst, heartache and loss. There will be eventual friendship and probably more between Zim and Dib. This can firmly be placed in the ZADF / ZADR category.
1. Chapter 1

Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. I am not Jhonen Vasquez or Nickelodeon and as such I do not claim any ownership of the series or the characters and I make no money from this fan fiction.

Title: Lugubrious

Author: Vel

Eventual ZaDf and ZaDr

Characters will most likely be OOC.

Will contain angst, possible humor, and my sorry attempts at romance.

There will be an established relationship between an original character and a character from the series.

There will be some references to the series including the canceled episodes. Any similarities to the comic however are completely coincidental as I have not read the comic.

The story begins during the summer break between Middle School and High School and starts with a very typical plot line. Also I know it's common for IZ fan writers to spell things the way they are spelled or pronounced in the series and comics like Skool, Erth, Hyooman (doubt if I even spelled that one right) but I'm not going to do that.

This is my first and will probably be my only IZ fan fiction.

lugubrious

[l _oo_ - **goo** -bree- _uh_ s]

adjective

mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in anaffected,

exaggerated, or unrelieved manner:

Lugubrious

By Vel

Part 1

Zim sat quietly his eyes downcast; the static on the screen providing the only light in the room. He hadn't moved since the transmission was disconnected a few moments earlier. Not even when the computer warned him that he only had 25 minutes left until the final countdown began.

The Tallest had finally had had enough of him.

It didn't come as a surprise, he had known for a while that his Tallest had exiled him and had simply been playing with him for the last few Earth years. He tolerated it, tried to not let it bother him. Told himself that he could ignore the laughter as long as they kept answering his calls, allowing him a brief connection with his leaders and his people, a tiny moment to remind him that he wasn't alone and that he hadn't been forgotten.

But it was over now. They had finally gown tired of him, he no longer amused them and they were done pretending just to have some entertainment at his expense.

Earth would be marked for conquest so non humans would leave it alone, they couldn't risk him gaining access to a ship if another species tried to conquer the planet. However the Empire would be staying clear of it as well. They had no interest in it other than it kept Zim as far away from Irk and the armada as they could get him without executing him.

From now on he was completely grounded, cut off from all further contact with not only his Tallest but any other off Earth species, Irken or otherwise. He would never be allowed to come back, not even as services drone. He was exiled, banished. If he made any attempt to restore any disabled functions, send out a transmission, or leave the planet he would be terminated without a trial.

The data in his PAK was being purged from the collective. To the Great Irken Empire he no longer existed.

Tallest Purple had gleefully informed him that that everything he owned, his Voot, his base, Gir, the computer all belonged to the Empire and that they were now taking everything back.

He was being left on Earth with nothing. No mission, no home and no companions.

He had been given one half hour to vacate the base if he didn't want to be killed when it retracted back into its transport pod. Once the base had been dismantled it and his Voot would return to the Massive via remote control.

"Master," the computer prompted again. "There are only 20 minutes left before the base is recalled."

Zim snapped out of his shock and turned to the console and began typing furiously.

"Computer," he shouted "disconnect as much of the house from the base as you can, then create memory slugs that are compatible with Earth tech. If there is still enough time after that, transfer my personal belongings, food and medical supplies up to the house."

"Yes sir," the computer replied sounding oddly proud, the robotic arms instantly began moving around, pulling cables away from the upper levels.

Zim started yanking pieces out of the computer, tossing them into a nearby crate.

"Ah, ah, ah," Purple's voice taunted from the speaker, "None of that."

There was a loud pop and the console suddenly sparked, violently knocking Zim back. He fell to the floor with a cry of pain, his antennae pressed flat against his head as an ominous, deafening metallic groan echoed through the room and the floor beneath him shuddered. Gir screamed hysterically in the background then the floor lurched again then something above crashed down onto him.

Everything went dark.

He blinked as he realized that the lighting had gone out and as his eyes adjusted Gir grabbed his arm, shaking him while sobbing out of control, the computer still trying to complete the tasks while the Tallest remotely tried to disable the base. They hadn't waited the half an hour like they had promised, the moment Zim defied them they began tearing his home apart with him still inside.

"Computer," he gasped, his body aching from the heavy equipment that had fallen on him. He staggered to his feet and pulled Gir into his arms. "Bring me the Voot."

The room quaked as the computer struggled to fulfill Zim's command. As the platform lowered down into the base the floor unexpectedly sunk to the left, the entire room swayed and the Voot Cruiser pitched off of the platform crashing just yards from where Zim stood clutching Gir to his chest.

Setting Gir down he scrambled across, jumping over the wide crack that now ran the length of the floor and hit the hatch release. Nothing happened. The Tallest told him that they had rendered the ship inoperable and now none of his commands were working, the Voot was dead. "Gir, help me open it."

"Yes master," Gir shouted eyes momentarily flashing red. Spotting one of the flailing cables Gir grabbed it and swung over, crashing into the side of the ship, breaking open the already cracked glass.

He stared at his Voot for several long moments, moments he didn't really have to spare before quickly climbing inside to sit in the cockpit. Though he was risking his life he didn't move, he just felt the seat under his body, the controls in his hands. He closed his eyes and could almost imagine himself in space again, just him and the stars.

His guts hurt.

Swallowing firmly he crawled out of the seat and moved towards the back of the ship to get the supply kit. As he pulled it out he saw the stasis pod still in its compressed storage case, tucked securely beside it and pulled it out as well. Tossing them both down to Gir he looked around the cockpit one last time. There wasn't anything else to salvage from inside his beloved little ship, though it wasn't a vital necessity he grasped a toggle switch, gave it a vicious twist and wrenched it free.

Stumbling from the ship he scooped up the cases and Gir before making a mad dash towards the crate of computer parts. Throwing his armful inside, he picked it up and darted to the elevator. Part of the wall collapsed before him, blocking his path. "Computer!"

Metal screeched loudly as a circle appeared around his feet and a small platform rose from the floor, taking him to where the ceiling was opening above him, but falling debris threatened to knock him back down into the maw below.

He did his best to dodge the hunks of falling base and just as he arrived at opening a beam struck him across his back of his head and upper back making him drop the crate. The last thing his saw before he lost consciousness was the blue-green glow of Gir's eyes disappearing into the dark pit that had once been his base.

Tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

Notes:

Mentions icky stuff maybe. Depending on how you feel about bodily fluids in the waste department.

Chapter Text

Lugubrious  
By Vel

Part 2

The first thing he noticed was the heat. Irk was hot and dry, the heat hadn't bothered him before. Not until he came to Earth where the Sun and the humidity were sometimes unbearable, it making the air feel too thick to breathe.

Then he notice that he couldn't move.

It was like there were a hundred hands pressing against him and holding him down. He couldn't get away from it. The space was bright enough that he could see the faint webbing of veins though his eyelids but couldn't summon the necessary strength needed to open them.

His thoughts were disjointed. He couldn't remember what happened or where he was.  
A spark of fear at the thought that he had been captured shot through him and he struggled again for one brief moment. He could feel the strength in his limbs draining away before he could even use them, despite the weakness he managed to roll to his side before vomiting then fading into unconsciousness again.

When he woke next it was dark and much cooler than it had been before. He didn't feel any better but he didn't feel any worse either. His head was pounding and every part of his body hurt which was strange, usually an injury only hurt at the time it was acquired and in extreme cases for an hour or so afterwards.

He had been out for quite some time; the passage from day to night should have been more than enough time to fix anything that had happened. Why did he feel so… what was that human word?

Shitty. He felt shitty.

His eyelids felt as if they had been filled with sand then fused closed, it took a concerning amount of effort to open them but after a while he managed.

At first he didn't recognize what it was he was seeing and the fear of capture coursed though him again, then he realized he was looking at the couch.

He clung to that thought. He was lying on his side on the living room floor just inches from the couch.

But how had he gotten there?

His clothing felt damp and the stench of vomit was disgustingly close. He retched at the smell and he tried to sit up, but he failed, dropping back to the floor with a pained thud.

As he lay there bits of memory began filtering through the fog of his mind. The transmission from Tallest, the base being recalled, Gir...

He swallowed roughly; it was difficult for he was painfully parched. He could feel his consciousness slipping away again but his thirst was unbearable; he had to get something to drink and hydration was only a room away, he just had to get there.

Somehow he was able roll on his stomach and push up onto his hands and knees. His arms trembled as he slowly moved across the room and into the kitchen. He was gasping as he turned and sat, slumped against the trashcan. There were a few cans of Irken beverage near but the darkness was creeping in faster than he could move and he went under again.

He woke again in the same position he had been before, slumped against the trash can in the kitchen. It was day again and he could clearly see what the destruction of the base below had done to the house.

Though the house had originally been nothing more than cables and holograms Zim had added to it over the years, making the structure more stable. When the base had retracted the cables had ripped through the walls and the ceiling leaving holes throughout the structure. It was going to take a lot of work to repair all the damage.  
He felt a touch stronger than he had when he was last awake and manage to reach the cupboard without using all of his energy. He had the first can popped open and chugged down so quickly he nearly threw it back up.

With eyes squeezed shut he sat gasping as his body tried to reject the much needed fluids. He wasn't used to feeling like this. Irkens didn't get sick and they never spent days feeling weak and tired, their PAKs made sure of that.

It was glaringly obvious his PAK was malfunctioning.

He didn't want to believe that his Tallest would deactivate it; if they had his life clock would have run out long ago and he never would have woken up. At that thought he came to the sinking realization that his PAK must have been damaged during his escape from the base and he no longer had what he required to fix it himself.

From what he could ascertain with just what he already learned, his energy cell was clearly not working; the life support system was breaking down too. There could be any number of other things but he was too weak to figure out right now. What he needed was his lab and the computer to run the proper diagnostics.

He sighed in frustration and the can from the second drink crunched as he made a weak fist around it. It was still about a third full so he sipped the rest of it slowly as he surveyed the mess that was his kitchen.

It was obvious the computer had managed to get more that just Zim up to the house during the recall. There were crates and boxes stacked along the wall and covering the table top. Leaning slightly he pulled one closer and looked inside.

Snacks.

His insides clenched painfully. Pulling out package, he unwrapped the snack before taking a small bite. He had learned his lesson with the drink and didn't want to risk throwing up when his body clearly needed the fuel.

It took all of his control to keep from stuffing the food into his mouth as fast as he could and he forced himself to continue to eat it in small bites. His strength was waning again and he could feel the darkness coming of startlingly fast.

He didn't want to sleep on the kitchen floor again but as the half eaten snack slipped from his grasp he knew he had no choice.

This time it was his own body odor that he noticed first. He smelled of vomit and something else he couldn't quite place. As with the last wake cycle he felt a little stronger than he had before.

Perhaps the error in his PAK was sorting itself out? Or it could have also been due to the fact that he managed to get some nutrients into his system.

It was day but he couldn't tell if it was the same day or if he had slept the night through and it was day again. He still felt weak enough that he didn't feel confident in standing just yet, so he settled for finishing the snack he had started before while he sorted through the boxes closest to him.

They mostly held the living supplies from his quarters in the base. Snacks, drinks, some clothing and junk left over from school that he hadn't disposed of yet.

When he completed the 8th grade just a few weeks ago he had decided not to join his classmates as they moved from Middle School to High School. The restrictions and tedium of the educational system was something he had had more than enough of for the last few years, but as he held one of his old note books the desire for the familiarity struck him with such a longing.

He would go back. If he survived the rest of the summer without his body-shell giving out, or his house collapsing on top of him.

He shifted slightly, his body aching from sitting on the floor for so long. Then he felt something strange, well stranger than he had already been feeling. It was an oddly familiar sensation but he couldn't immediately place it, then he got another waft of body odor and it clicked.

"This is not happening," he groaned.

His PAK had a rechargeable power cell and an R.E.S., a recycling energy system. Everything he consumed was drawn into the PAK and recycled as fuel; as such his natural system produced no waste. As a smeet it often took a few days for the PAK and the body-shell to fully sync, during that time excess waste is expelled naturally.

His R.E.S. wasn't working and for the first time since he was a smeet, Zim needed to pee, and quite urgently too.

"That explains why I'm so tired," he grumbled as he sorted through a box to find anything he could relieve himself in. Even if he could stand and the house had an actual, functioning toilet, with the base gone what was left of the house no longer had electricity or running water.

Finding a large jar full of tacks and screws, he dumped the hardware out and managed his call of nature without making a worse mess of himself.

After screwing the lid on tightly he cleaned his hands as best as he could on a piece of clothing he pulled from one of the boxes, and with a grimace of disgust he opened another snack and drink. He was exhausted and his body was demanding proper nourishment and though he wanted to clean up and put on some fresh clothes he simply had to wait until he had the strength to do so.

He also needed help but there was no one he could call.

In all his time on Earth he hadn't made any friends. He and the Dib weren't exactly enemies any more but his pride wouldn't allow the human to see him in such a state, barely conscious and soaked in his own fluids.

Besides, the beast had gone away to camp for the summer and wouldn't return for another month. There was his scary sibling but she too had gone away for a few weeks, to where he didn't know.

All he had was Gir and to a lesser extent, the computer. If the computer had managed the memory slugs like he had instructed, there was a chance he could install the computer's AI memory on a human system. It wasn't much but at least he would have someone to talk to.

Gir would be more difficult. He had lost him to the imploding base and rebuilding the S.I.R.'s body would be challenging without his workshop. Humans were capable of making robots of all shapes and sizes but he had gown rather fond of Gir looking like 'Gir'. To put his memory and personality in another body just felt wrong.

He nibbled his snack; using the wrapper he took care to not let his dirty fingers actually touch the food. The washed it down with his drink. His body appeared to be handling the food better this time and he didn't feel ill after everything was consumed.

It was worrisome that his PAK functions were diminished but his digestion seemed capable of compensating for it. With luck he might be able to function somewhat normally in time.

To his surprise and relief he didn't feel as if he were going to pass out after eating like he had before and was able to scoot over to the table. The exertion left him dizzy but he was determined get onto his feet, even if he fell on his face a second later.

He took hold of the back of the chair with one hand and pushed himself up with the other. His head swam and his meal threatened to rise up and choke him, but he dug his claws into the table top and hung on to consciousness with all the strength he had in him.

There was another stack of clothing on the table, including a pair of loose pajama pants. Though he hardly had the strength to continue standing he dug into the deep well of determination that was Zim and forced his soiled leggings down with one hand while the other clutched tightly to the chair back. He balanced on one foot and stepped out of both boot and leggings, then switched to the other foot.

It was harder getting into the clean pants as he had to bend over to pull them up and the motion caused his vision to blacken and the pounding in his head to increase.

Once the pants were on he dropped into the chair and pulled off his tunic, tossing it aside. He would never need it again. He then sat for a moment and tried to force the fatigue down, he had so much work to do and he would never get anything done if he kept falling asleep.

Determined to do something, anything productive he dragged a box across the table and removed the lid.

Gir's empty grey eyes started back at him.

The computer had managed to save the tiny robot's body after all. If he had the body and the memory slug then there was a very real chance he could get Gir working again.

Carefully he lifted the S.I.R. from the box and placed in on the table. Emotion filled him in a way it never had before, he bowed over Gir and wept.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Lugubrious

By Vel

Part 3

Zim hissed and glared down at the small burn on his finger. Normally he wouldn't have even noticed such an injury, but with the diminished healing function in his PAK he now felt everything, the ache in his back from sleeping on the kitchen floor, the tired neck from being hunched over his task for the last several hours, and now a burn when his hands were already fatigued.

The parts he had managed to pull from the Irken computer along with several other electronic parts he had taken from various machines were spread out on the table before him. He had been trying to combine them into something he could work with until he could acquire more sophisticated parts, but for now just having internet access would be a good start.

He picked up the soldering iron again finding it had powered off. He jiggled the wire he had used to rig it to a battery pack and the small red light flickered then stayed lit allowing him to continue his work.

Exhaustion and lack of light finally forced him to stop for the night and he slid from the chair into the pile of clothing he had started sleeping in as a way to reserve strength. The sofa would have been far more comfortable but he didn't want to use up his reserves trying to move between the two rooms when everything he currently needed was in the kitchen.

He woke with the sun the next morning and he started his day by filling his belly, purposefully ignoring how little food was left before going back to work on the computer. There were quite a few human foods he could eat and he had figured out how to safely touch and drink water, so he wouldn't starve when he ran out of snacks, but he needed the computer to access the bank account that held his Earth money.

He had created the account after the whole 'Santa' fiasco using the names he had given the parent robots. Compared to building his human identity, making a bank account have been ridiculously simple, the funds were in such tiny amounts from so many places that so far no one had noticed anything amiss and appeared on the statements as direct deposit pay checks.

In all honesty he didn't even know how much money was in the account now. Whenever he needed something he just told the Computer and the next day or so there was a package on the porch. On occasion he used the ATM to get money but he had only done it a few times.

The computer had been controlling the account on his behalf ever since it was created and Zim really hadn't used it that much, but now that the computer was down he was worried the bank might notice that the checks were no longer coming in.

The sooner the computer was running the better, and he was so close to having something that worked, he could feel it.

He worked for hours taking no notice of his bodily needs as the day progressed; he had tested and retested his computer nearly a dozen times and as evening approached he was ready to shove it away in frustration.

It should work.

His was slumped over with his cheek pressed to the table top when his eyes fell on the box Gir was nestled in. Determination coursed though him and he sat upright again, taking a deep breath he pulled the computer closer and started the testing sequence again.

*beep beep*

"Yes!" he shouted as the device booted up and information scrolled across the small screen. With hope he would be able to get some of the work he needed done before the battery pack gave out since there was a very real chance it might not boot up again if the power went out.

A dialogue box appeared on the screen, * Hello sir *

Zim typed frantically, "Computer, order everything I will need in order to reconnect you to the house. Use the funds from the parent's account. Quickly, before your battery dies."

The device whirred for a moment then beeped again, * Order complete sir. Delivery expected by noon tomorrow. *

Zim leaned back in his chair with a sigh; he allowed his eyes to rest for a moment before reaching out again. "Computer, I am also in need of food and water."

Another series of beeps sounded before new text appeared, * Grocery delivery 8am tomorrow morning. *

Zim moved to type a reply when the screen suddenly went black and he was plunged into darkness. He was truly beginning to hate the dark, and even more so the quite. He gently touched Gir's box, which was sitting on the table away from the computer then slid from the chair into his nest of clothing.

'Just one more night' he told himself as he settled into sleep. Just one more night and he would have his computer back and hopefully have full use of his house again as well.

He woke to a loud knock on the door and sat up so quickly he nearly hit his head on the table. He got to his feet and managed to get to the doorway when he realized he didn't have a disguise.

The knock sounded again.

"Just a moment!" he shouted as he looked around quickly. He was still only dressed in the pajama pants from two days ago and a pair of socks. He pulled a long sleeve shirt from his nest and put it on, and then spotting a towel he threw it over his head. It was the best he could do on such short notice, especially as it seemed like the delivery person was getting impatient.

"About time," the guy snapped and held out a tablet for him to sign, then hardly gave him a chance to do it before snatching it away again. Then he was in his truck and gone without even looking at Zim.

"At least he left the food before he took off," Zim said to himself as he crouched to pick up the first of two boxes. He managed to get them to the kitchen with surprising ease, considering how weak he had been for the past few days and took a few minutes sorting through them.

Inside he found two dozen small bottles of distilled water, a case of Classic Poop cola, and various individually wrapped pastries both sweet and savory.

He had been relieved to learn that it wasn't actually the water that he had reacted to but the chemicals and other impurities in it, if the water was boiled, filtered several times, or distilled he could drink it without an adverse reaction. In a pinch he found that he could add natural sugar or honey to a liquid and it somewhat neutralized the reaction, though it usually took a lot of sugar. Prepared drinks like cola usually had enough sugar but it had to be regular and not diet as the artificial sweeteners actually made the reaction worse.

He had yet to find a way, other than covering himself in paste, to stop the burning effect of the rain.

He also learned that he could consume eggs and dairy as long as they were produced organically and without added hormones. Vegetables he could eat if he purchased them fresh and cleaned and prepared them himself reducing contamination from the impurities in the water. Most bread products he had no problem with at all and could eat then as is. Other than bread and pastries he avoided prepackaged and overly processed things as much as he could. The more additives, preservatives and chemicals added the less he was able to tolerate it.

However, he simply stored the information thinking he would never need it because the Tallest had always sent him all the sustenance he needed to power his R.E.S., but now that they stopped his supplies he was thankful he had taken the time a few summers ago to test what he could eat and what he could not.

With a sigh he opened one of the pastries a Poop cola and had his breakfast. There really wasn't much more he could do until the computer parts arrived later that day. Food consumed he pillowed his head on his arms and stared at Gir's box; he truly missed his noisy companion. Once he got the computer fully functional again and the house was repaired he could start work on Gir, and hopefully get him working again.

He must have dozed off for he woke the second time that day to someone pounding on the front door. Draping the towel over his head again he opened the door only to find the package on the step, the delivery person long gone.

Dragging it into the house he took a quick look outside then closed the door. The box was rather large and he struggled to lift it, only managing to carry it a few feet before dropping it on the living room floor again, pushing it the rest of the way to the kitchen.

He tore into it as soon as he got it close enough to his work station and got right to work on the computer. Now that he had both the proper parts and the proper tools it only took him a few hours to make the upgrades and the newly build computer booted up on the first try.

It still was nowhere near as sophisticated as the old one had been but it was enough to work with for now. Taking a moment he typed his immediate needs, electricity, water, and a bathroom, and then sent the request off. After a moment or two the Computer replied with instructions on how to continue.

Following the prompt he connected a cable to the computer then dragged it across the room plugging it into a port in wall near the fridge. Once the cable was securely connected on each end he ran the program.

As the audio function had not been installed on this device a loud beep alerted him as another dialogue box appeared on the screen, * insufficient power to reconnect water supply or reconfigure the structure *

"Can you localize the power usage to one point in the house and store it to a cell?"

* Negative, internal wiring has become damaged throughout the structure. To minimize risk of fire I can only restore electricity to this single port *

"Can't you drain more from the neighbors?" He typed.

* No – alternate arrangements must be made *

He drummed his fingers on the table top before a thought struck him, his fingers blurred as he typed out his idea.

* Probability of success – 80% * the Computer informed him.

"I'll take it," he said aloud as he dropped to his knees and began ripping through the crates that were lined up against the wall behind the table, he knew what he was looking for, he had seen it just a few days before when he was collecting parts for the computer, he just couldn't remember which crate he had stored it in. "Where is it?" he mumbled, throwing things aside in his haste, not caring where they fell. He only had a few hours left in the day, he needed to get this set up as soon as possible if he were to have any chance of having a working bathroom today.

"Yes!" he hefted a cardboard box out of the crate and set it on the floor then he counted the contents still left in the large crate.

50\. It wasn't much, not by a long shot but it certainly could do the job if he rigged it right.

Going back to the computer he calculated how much stored energy the computer would need to reconfigure the house. Information scrolled across the screen and a few moments later he had his answer.

The 50 solar cells he had if assembled into two, 25 cell panels could fill a large storage device with sufficient energy to give the computer enough of a boots to get the changes made, if combined with the power he was leaching from the neighbors it would take approximately 18 hours to charge a storage cell with enough power to allow the computer to repair the house.

The storage cell would be completely shot afterwards but Computer was only going to have to fix the house once, so the system didn't need to be permanent.

The hardest part would be setting up the newly fabricated panels outside. In his weakened state he would be difficult but not impossible.

Sifting through the clutter on the table he found his contacts and put them in, he hadn't been able to find his wig, figuring it had been lost but he did have a hat so he put that on to hide his antennas. Then carrying as many as he could he hauled all of the solar cells outside. It took him several trips to move everything he needed out including snacks and drinks.

He sat in the shade of the house as he methodically worked on the temporary assembly; he saw none of his neighbors the entire time he was out. Apparently they were unconcerned by the noises that must have come from his house when the base was recalled. But considering everything that had happened in the area over the last several years he wasn't surprised.

He forced himself to keep working, even as his vision blurred and his chin dropped to his chest when he could no longer hold his head up. His hands burned, covered in cuts and scratches but he was making progress. The sun was still high when he dragged the first panel around the front of the house, and attached it to the cable running through the window to the storage cell inside the house. The second panel went together faster than the first and soon it was attached to the cell as well.

He shuffled wearily back into the house and checked the storage cell, to his relief the system was working and the percentage indicator showed that it already had a 2% charge.

With a sigh he dropped on to the couch and was asleep just moments later.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Lugubrious

By Vel

Part 4

Zim paced between the living room and the kitchen, agitated and impatient. The storage cell was nearly full and he was eager to see if the computer could use the power it contained to fix the house. If it didn't work he was going to have to figure out another plan so the sooner he knew the better.

There were only few weeks left of summer break and there were other things he needed to do if he planned on returning to school. First he needed to figure out how to stabilize his system so he could function without needing so much sleep. He also needed to learn how to prepare the other foods he could safely eat because he couldn't possibly live off of pastries and cola forever. It hadn't even been two full days since the groceries arrived and he was already sick eating the same thing every meal.

A series of high pitched beeps sounded from the kitchen and he pivoted, quickly moving through the door to check the computer.

The dialogue box greeted him with a message stating that the cell was now full and instructions on what to do next.

Hurrying outside, he disconnected the cables from the solar panels then pulled them back though the open window so he could plug them into the port in the kitchen where he had plugged in the computer.

Computer beeped again and he wiped his hands on his pants before checking the message.

* Ready to commence reconfiguration. For your safety I suggest you wait outside. *

Zim nodded even though the computer couldn't see him and picked up Gir's box. Tucking it under his arm he initiated the sequence before heading back outside and took shelter from the sun by once again hunkering down in the side yard and waited.

It felt like hours passed before he felt the first rumbling tremors though the wall. The entire house shuddered for several long minutes before everything when quiet again. To be safe he lingered a few moments longer before venturing back inside.

The living room looked pretty much the same as it had before; the only notable difference was the lack of holes in the ceiling and walls. The wall separating the two rooms was also several feet closer to the front than it had been before.

The kitchen too was smaller.

The toilet was now gone and the cupboard that had been on the right side of the stove now stood to the left, a large green Farmhouse sink with a tankless water heater mounted above was now on the right. The fridge and table were still in the same places but there was a new doorway where the toilet had been.

The computer was still on the table and the storage cell sat silent on the floor by the refrigerator, the cable was already disconnected as the computer had ejected it from the port. The smell of burnt plastic was strong and he could see faint wisps of smoke coming from the cell.

He gently set Gir on the table then crouched to inspect the device and as he expected, it was completely fried, still hot to the touch and no longer useable. The insistent beeping from the computer drew his attention back to the table and he moved to read the screen. He found an urgent notice advising him to dispose of the cell as soon as he was able. There was also a report of all the changes and he took the time to read it thoroughly.

The computer had been able to restore 90% of the structural integrity to the house and add the much needed addition of a small bathroom but it did not have had the power left to rewire the electricity throughout, so he only had one working outlet in the living room, two in the kitchen including the port he was currently using, and the overhead lights in all three rooms.

Abandoning the computer for the moment he moved through the doorway to explore the new changes. The new space, no wider than a hallway was about four foot deep and to his left he found his new bathroom. The light switch was on the exterior doorframe and the door opened outward. There was a six inch curb in the doorway and the toilet, now a properly functional item, sat against the far wall. Above it was a foldaway sink with a detachable handheld shower and another tankless water heater.

According to the report, there was another water tank outside on the side of the house that held pre-filtered cold water so he could use it without needing to purify it first.

On the wall next to the toilet he found a recess with a water tight sliding door designed to keep the bath tissue and a towel dry. The entire surface of the small room was covered in pale pink tiles and the floor sloped way from the toilet allowing water to easily reach the drain in the floor.

Leaving the bathroom he discovered a steep staircase leading up to the Voot landing pad. The large space was stuffy and uncomfortably hot, the only light it had was coming from the window on the front of the house, but it wasn't much as only the very top of the window actually extended into the room. There was no ventilation or electricity, there was no way he would be able to live up here but it would be a good storage space for all of the boxes and crates scattered about downstairs.

After heading back down stairs he checked that new plumbing worked in the bath and kitchen then had the computer order him some cleaning supplies and more groceries. Now that his physical condition was improving he really needed to clean up the mess that had been left behind and organize his supplies so he knew exactly what he had and what he needed to get.

He had already discovered that he had some stuff that he didn't need but was lacking in some necessities like his disguises. It was fortunate that he still had his contacts because he seriously doubted his ability to recreate them, but he absolutely needed to get a new wig, and as soon as possible.

The computer beeped to confirm his request, an estimated delivery time of noon tomorrow was displayed on the screen.

He sighed and ran and hand over his tired face then looked down at them, noticing once again the small cuts and scratches that littered his palms and fingers. It was a bit unnerving to know that he wasn't healing as quickly as he once could. In the past he wouldn't have even noticed these tiny cuts, they would have healed almost the moment he acquired them.

He was going to need to especially careful from now on. He couldn't go to a human hospital if he needed medical care and he fell ill he currently had no idea what human medications he could take or use and the Irken kit he had pulled from the Voot was new but quite basic. If he were to get more seriously injured he had no way to fix it.

The room was a huge mess with items strewn about from when he was searching for the solar cells, garbage and pieces of wall and floor. There was a pile of dirty laundry under the table, the same laundry he had been sleeping on when he had been too weak to move, and everything was covered in dust.

There was a foul odor in the room, a combination of everything that had spoiled in the fridge, coupled with the acrid smell from the charred power cell.

There was still so much to do but for the moment he really didn't care.

Sorting through the clothing he found something that was still clean enough to wear, then grabbed his towel and went to his new bathroom to take a shower. He didn't have any soap or other grooming supplies and had forgotten to request them when he put the order in. He hoped the computer remembered.

In the shower his skin tingled unpleasantly but didn't burn, letting him know that the computer's filtering system was working but needed a little tweaking to improve the level of purification. However the warmth and being clean far outweighed the uncomfortable sensation and he lingered longer than was wise, considering how tired he was.

He shuffled out some time later and dropped onto the sofa. He really should have grabbed something to eat when he passed though the kitchen but the smell had been off-putting and thought of eating another pastry made him faintly ill. So, though it was still fairly early in the day he curled up and went to sleep.

For the third time in recent history he woke to the sounds of someone banging on his door, and he felt terrible. Nearly as bad as he had when he first awoken after the base was recalled.

The banging on the door matched the pounding in his head as he dragged himself from the sofa. Grabbing his hat from where he had left it on the chair, he put it on then opened the door a crack. He found the same delivery guy from the other day, waiting impatiently for Zim to sign for the delivery.

The moment the door was open enough a tablet was shoved in Zim's face and he dutifully signed it, the man striding away the instant the stylus stopped moving.

There were three boxes this time and it took him that many trips to get them into the kitchen. Two of the boxes held food; the third had cleaning and other household supplies. Starting with that box he removed the items and either put them away or set them aside for immediate use.

Armed with a large garbage bag he took a deep breath and tacked the now spoiled contents of the refrigerator. His sense of smell was much stronger than a human's and the revolting stench of rotting food, made worse by the intense summer heat left him gagging. Out of desperation he kept his nasal passages sealed but because he needed to breathe and could smell though his mouth thanks to auxiliary olfactory sense organ, he couldn't escape it and settled for shoveling the food into the bag as quickly as he could. Tying the bag off he dragged it outside to the garbage can, leaving the fridge to open to air out.

The ugly neighbor lady was outside today but he ignored her, keeping his head down so the brim of his hat would mask his undisguised eyes. He stuffed the bag into the can and went back into the house for the next load from the freezer.

Once the both fridge and freezer were empty, he filled his new sink with hot water and dish soap, and then scrubbed the entire appliance inside and out. He then dried it out with a t-shirt as he only had one towel, before putting all of his new food away.

Setting the computer on the stove he used the still damp cloth to wipe the table and chairs clean of dust, pushing all the debris to the floor. Watching a chunk of wall join the rest of the trash on the floor he realized that he hadn't seen his broom anywhere and made a mental note to get another one as soon as he could.

He rinsed the cloth in the sink and set it aside for later use before pulling the plug to let the dirty water drain.

Bathing and washing his hands was something he never had to do before as he had other ways to sanitize his skin, but as he stood at his kitchen sink scrubbing the fridge gunge and dust from his hands he decided it was something he could easily get used to, even with the tingle.

It was nearly 2 in the afternoon and he hadn't eaten since the day before so he took a break, making a cheese sandwich from his new food supplies and sat at the table while he ate. The hum of the fridge was the only sound he heard and the silence began to bother him again.

Getting up he carried his sandwich through to the living room, and after setting the plate on the side table he messed with the TVs. Unlike Gir he didn't need to have all the TVs going at once, he didn't even need a clear picture, but he had to have something to fill the unsettling silence.

The largest screen came to life with a burst of deafening static and he quickly adjusted the volume before clicking through the channels. He found several stations with decent reception and settled on a National Geographic documentary on the African Savanna and found it interesting enough that he stayed on the couch well after his sandwich was gone, watching it through before going back to the kitchen to start on the floor.

Picking up his nest he shook out the clothing, getting them as clean as he could without actually washing, before folding what could still be worn. He stacked the folded items on the table and stuffed the dirty pieces into a bag.

He had started wearing human clothing in middle school. He and Dib had gotten in to a spectacular battle involving weasels, canned cheese, and the City Cesspool during Spring Break in 7th grade and his uniform was left beyond repair. At the time he had only had two decent uniforms left, and though his computer could have made more for him, Invader uniforms had to be obtained directly from the Empire and the Tallest had ignored his request for more so he opted to save the last uniform, wearing it only during calls when he was face to face with his Tallest and bought other things to wear.

His first batch of clothing had come from a local thrift store. At first he had just grabbed things at random, boys' clothes, girls' clothes, pajamas, formal wear… he hadn't really cared what he wore as long as it fit. It had been a bit of 'hit or miss' as to what went together and what was comfortable, like fuzzy socks were fantastic and underwear was absolutely necessary when wearing denim, especially in the summer.

After wearing human clothes for a while he had begun to favor a simple style of t-shirts and jeans and wore that almost exclusively now. Once he had settled he had begun to purchase better quality items and had accumulated a rather large collection of vintage graphic tees, most of which seemed to have survived the destruction.

Dib was the only one to really notice the change and had been convinced his decision had to do with some new diabolical plan to take over the Earth. He had spent weeks trying to figure out what Zim was planning, placing bugs and sneaking cameras into his base. It had been rather amusing to watch the human get bent out of shape over whatever his imagination was conjuring up, and he had delighted in revealing a little false information just to see the human running around in effort to try and stop something that was never going to happen. After a while Dib seemed to figure out that the clothing had nothing to with a plan and his attention began to focus elsewhere.

That had been their last real physical altercation Zim realized with a start, nearly dropping the shirt he had been folding. Sure they had had a few pokes over the last year and a half but it was nothing compared to what they had done in the past.

The rest of that school year had been uneventful and that summer Dib had gone away just like this summer. During 8th grade they only shared one class and had lunch at different times. It just seemed that Dib had lost interest, like he no longer viewed Zim as a threat to mankind.

What had changed?

He couldn't really think of anything, they just sort of drifted apart.

With a sigh Zim finished folding everything that was clean enough to wear and carried the stack to the living room, setting it neatly in the empty bookshelf.

When he returned to the kitchen he frowned at the large trash bag full of dirty clothing. Before the recall he had cleaning facilities down in the base. He was going to have to take them to a Laundromat until he could bypass the plumbing and electrical limitations to have a machine in the house.

For now he dragged the bag into the room and left it by the couch.

Pulling a new bag from the box he began collecting the larger trash from the floor while putting the things he still wanted back into the crates. He found his old uniform tunic where he had thrown it in the far corner and looked at it for a long moment. It had been his badge of honor, his pride, the visible proof that he had accomplished one of the greatest achievements in his society.

To see it now, tattered and scorched and knowing why it looked that way just made him angry. He jerked it up off floor and stuffed it into the trash bag, and as he forced it inside something metallic clattered between his feet. Looking down he spotted the small toggle switch he had pulled from the Voot. He didn't even remember putting it in his pocket.

Picking it up, he set it on the stove next to the computer then went back to work.

By the time the room was as clean and organized as he could get it, the sun was setting and he was barely able to keep his eyes open but forced himself to eat again before settling on the couch for the night.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

Lugubrious

Part 5

By Vel

Lard Nar woke with a start and frowned at the rapidly blinking amber light of the intercom touch pad. The shrill alert sounded again and he leaned over to connect the call.

"Sir!" Cesp, a Vortain female under his command nearly shouted at him when she saw the call had been answered. "Lieutenant Kiry needs to speak to you; he says it's incredibly urgent."

"Kiry?"

"Yes sir," Cesp confirmed with a rapid nod of her head.

"I'll be right there." He informed her before disconnecting the call, the he scrambled into his uniform while wracking his brain as to why the commander of a Gelatisigian space station would need to speak to him so urgently. Though the Gelatisigian's claimed to support him and the Resisty, they also claimed neutrality and swore to not take sides, doing everything they could to keep their people out of the conflict between the Resisty and the Armada.

He still had not come up with anything of use, and as he entered the bridge all those in his command acknowledged him but he chose to head directly to his chair and answer the call.

"Lieutenant Kiry," he greeted and the pale blue and white, reptilian looking Gelatisigian saluted him, his inner set of clear eye lids blinked rapidly several times over his solid Prussian blue eyes.

"Sir, we have intercepted a message from the Irken leaders. The sector 18 planet known as 'Jur' has been marked for conquest by the Irken Empire."

"That can't be possible!" Lard Nar shouted in disbelief. Jur was a sanctuary planet, it had been specifically chosen because sector 18 was so far away from Irk that the Empire previously had no interest in it, they were sure the Irken's didn't even know there was a habitable planet out there.

"It is true sir," Kiry stated seriously, his long white hair slipping over his blue, scaly shoulder as he shifted to bring up the message. It was written in Irken but the computer automatically translated it to Vortain and Lard Nar's fears were confirmed. Jur had indeed been added to the Irken – Planet Jacker treaty list of planets set for conquest.

"Kiry, I thank you for relaying this message," Lard Nar told him and the Gelatisig nodded once before disconnecting the link.

Rising his goggles he rubbed his tired eyes. "Cusp, how many refugees are currently placed on Jur?"

Swiveling in her chair to face the console Cusp began to type rapidly, "One thousand, six hundred and twelve sir."

"Spleenk," Lard Nar called out as he turned to the alien in question, "Go wake Shloomktapooxis, we have a lot to do."

Commander Xycret Helexa paced the deck of the Resisty research ship in his command. The 'Unity' was of Vortain engineering, as were all of the Resisty vessels, and as such was a rare sight in this sector of space. The commander had awoken to a feeling of foreboding that they couldn't shake and so they had spent much of their sleep cycle pacing the deck.

Those under their command waited patiently knowing that whatever it was their commander was sensing it was important, and so they were prepared to act at a moment's notice. Though the crew was primarily comprised of scientists and doctors, they each had undergone a certain level of training and could hold their own in battle if it came to that point.

Though they were tense, none of the crew on the flight deck jumped when the communication alarm shrilly sounded.

Marwa, a violet translucent being of unknown origin and gender opened the channel, "Commander, Lard Nar is wishes to speak to you."

"Put him on screen," Helexa replied. Shifting form to vapor they quickly floated from the upper deck, rematerializing before the command chair. The commander sat just as the call connected.

"Xy," Lard Nar greeted informally. "The Tallest have marked Jur for conquest."

"What!" Helexa roared surging to their feet, orange and red vapor bursting off of them like flames. "Jur is a sanctuary!"

"I know, and I don't know how much time we have. You're ship is currently the closest one we have stationed to Jur, I will need you to organize the quick evacuation of the refugees."

"I understand," Helexa replied, dropping back into their seat. "How long ago was the planet marked?"

"4 cycles," Lard Nar replied and Helexa sighed, waving vapor away from their face as one would do with a stray hair. "I trust you to oversee this," Lard Nar stated.

"I will see to it," They confirmed.

With a nod the Vortain disconnected the message.

"Lieutenant," Helexia called while turning to face the man in question. "I want you pull up the refugee database and compile lists arranging them by location. Get help from as many of the crew as you feel necessary."

"Yes sir," the lieutenant replied with a sharp salute before hurrying off to complete his task.

"Marwa, set our course for Jur."

Zim was so worn out. Getting used to how his body was naturally meant to function was exhausting; he had never realized how much the PAK compensated for it until the process stopped. He slumped onto the couch with a frustrated wheeze and ran a hand over his weary face.

For the last two days he had sorted through all of the boxes and crates, setting aside what he could use now, throwing away what he would never need, and tried storing the rest up in the attic, but his body still wasn't up to carrying all of the crates. The harder he tried the weaker he became.

Though it was barely 10am, he was seriously tempted to take a nap and more asleep than awake when an unforeseen knock sounded at the door.

There were no deliveries scheduled this day and no one ever came to visit. At first he thought it might be Dib as he was the only being other than Tak and the delivery people who voluntarily stopped by, but even if the human had returned from camp early he would have never just knocked on the door.

Looking over at the door he noticed that he hadn't pulled the shades fully closed on one side, if whoever it was were to look inside, they could easily spot him sitting there. Suddenly on alert he slid from the sofa as quickly as he could and quietly crept up to the door.

The knock sounded again and to his consternation he jumped at the noise. With the majority of the security grid down he didn't actually have any protection or have a way to see out through the door now, so he cautiously moved to the far window and squinted through a kink in the blinds.

Who he saw standing there shocked him.

Scrambling quickly he threw on his hat and pulled the door open.

"Ms. Bitters?" He questioned the specter of a woman that stood in his doorway.

His elderly former teacher loomed over him dressed in a black cloak; she simply eyed him for a moment from the gloomy depths of her hood, then without a word she stepped aside to reveal the smaller person standing behind her.

"Zim!" the other person cried, rushing to him with a startling speed. Unable to avoid it, they collided and tumbled to the living room floor. Ms Bitters stepped in after them, quietly closing the door behind herself. "I can't believe it's really you!"

"Skoodge?" Zim asked in wonderment when he finally recognized the stranger's voice. The other Irken's disguise was top of the line, much like Tak's had been, making him indistinguishable from a human.

Skoodge laughed as his holographic disguise melted away. "I never thought I would see you again," he stated with a huge smile plastered on his pale green face. He was just as short and plump as he always had been but his uniform was very different. Gone was the fuchsia tunic of an Invader with its pink gloves and stains, in its place was a black jacket over an Indigo shirt that was tucked into black pants. There was an insignia that Zim didn't recognize over the left breast and on each shoulder. He wore black gloves and heavy black boots as well.

"What are you doing here?" Zim asked as he sat up, or tried too as Skoodge was still sitting on his stomach.

The other Irken's smile faded.

"After Hobo 13 I defected from the empire and joined the Resisty," Skoodge hurried to explain as he climbed off of Zim. "We received a message that the tallest have marked this planet for conquest, so my commander sent me here to assist the non-native's that have sought sanctuary here in leaving the planet."

Zim sat on the floor looking up at him in shock. He spent the first year here, before he accepted his exile, earnestly trying to destroy Earth and all the while the Tallest never told him Earth was a sanctuary planet. He felt ill again and Skoodge suddenly looked worried.

"Zim, are you alright."

He shook his head no; momentarily unable to say anything and it was Ms. Bitters who spoke next.

"Help him to the sofa."

Skoodge immediately went to Zim's side and helped him to his feet. His eyes growing wide as Zim came to his full height and stood head and shoulders taller than he did.

"You grew," he blurted in shock and Zim blinked down at him in surprise.

When had that happened? He and Skoodge had been close to the same height the last time they met, hell Zim had been the same height nearly his entire life, he had stopped growing around the same time he graduated from a Smeet training Pak to his permanent adult PAK while finishing his training in the academy.

"We haven't much time," Ms Bitters interrupted and Zim focused his attention on her.

"What are you doing here anyway?" He asked. He hadn't seen her since they advanced from elementary school to middle school over three years earlier.*

"I'm going back home," the old woman replied and it finally dawned on Zim. She wasn't human.

"When she sought sanctuary here her planet was at war. They found peace a long time ago and it's safe for her to go back now," Skoodge explained. "When I went to collect her she told me about a student she had a few years back that she was certain was an non-native. We didn't have any record of them so she offered to help us track them down. I never expected them to be you."

It made so a lot sense now, no wonder she let him get away with so much. There had even been times that she had almost been an ally against Dib, ignoring him as he ranted about Zim being an alien, making Dib stay at school to clean up after the whole 'Pustulio' thing, and she had to have known he was behind that fake field trip, especially when everybody but him got to go.

There was a strange purple glint from the depths of the hood as she eyed him and he gave her a half smile before remembering something Skoodge had said.

"Wait, you said you were here because the Tallest marked Earth for conquest?"

Skoodge nodded, "Yes, a message was relayed to us stating that this plant had been added to the Irken-Planet Jacker treaty."

Zim deflated and looked away. "That's my fault," he said quietly. "Earth isn't in any danger of attack from the Empire."

"What do you mean?" Skoodge asked, looking confused.

"The Tallest added Earth to the treaty as a way to keep me grounded. I have been exiled, permanently banished here. I'm not allowed to leave or even contact anyone off this planet. They took away everything, my base, my ship, even my S.I.R. and added Earth to the treaty so I couldn't gain access to a ship if a non-native landed here."

Skoodge looked appalled, then sad. That was just one would expect from the Tallest.

"You could come with us," he offered and Zim's head shot up.

"No," he said a little too loudly. "My punishment would be death. I can't leave, if the Tallest ever found out they would stop at nothing to kill me and anyone who helped me. I can't put you and everyone you work with in that kind of danger."

Skoodge had never heard Zim speak so selflessly before, it was worrisome. Opening his communicator he contacted one of the crewmen that he had selected to work with him.

Few moments later there was another knock on the door. Without being asked Ms. Bitters opened it and moved to allow the small crewman to enter.

"Bobby, I need you to escort Ms. Bitters to the ship. I will be staying behind a while longer," Skoodge said to the newcomer.

"Is everything okay sir?" came his concerned reply.

"Yes, I'm just going to visit with a friend for a little while. When you get to the ship, ask the Commander to call me. I have some new information for them."

"Sure thing," Bob replied. Glancing at Zim who sat silent on the couch, the former service drone turned Resisty member and dropped his disguise.

He didn't really remember Zim having, met up with Skoodge a short while later. As he didn't have the same military background as Skoodge had he didn't advance in the ranks as quickly as the other Irken had, but he enjoyed his place in the crew anyway.

It was far better than having a table strapped to his head and serving those assholes in the Massive.

Skoodge and Bob spoke in low tones for few moments more before Bob turned his disguise back on and moved to door beckoning for Ms Bitters to follow.

"Wait," Zim called, pulling himself off the couch to stop his old teacher before she left. "Thank you," He said as sincerely and she rested a boney hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before drifting through the open door like a shadow.

"Tell me everything that happened," Skoodge implored after the other two had left and Zim spilled out everything, going all the way back to when he first realized his mission was a lie, up to waking up on the floor after the recall. All the while his unexpected guest listened intently without interruption.

Skoodge was seething as Zim fell quiet.

"I'm not going to try and convince you to come with me, even though I think you should," he said to Zim. "So I'm going to stay here with you, at least until you get back on your feet. Now that I know this planet isn't in any immediate danger I'm sure my commander will allow me to stay for as long I need to."

"You don't have too," Zim tried and Skoodge cut him off.

"I want to."

For the rest of that day his friend did all the grunt work Zim hadn't had the strength to do himself, lugging the crates up to the attic and taking the dirty clothing to the Laundromat a few blocks away.

After a meal and a nap, Zim felt he had regained enough strength by late evening to allow the other Irken to take a look at his PAK. He hadn't dared to take it off to tinker with on his own, not with all the errors and the compromised life support system, but he could leave the PAK on while Skoodge took a look at it now.

"I don't know," Skoodge said uncertainly as he stood behind Zim who was seated sideways in one of the kitchen chairs, head pillowed on his arms that were folded on the tabletop. "My pre-academy training is in science, not maintenance."

"Every Invader has some basic PAK maintenance training," Zim reminded him, "And I'm not asking you to take it apart or rebuild it, just take a look and see if there is anything you can fix, and maybe get the tools working again."

"Okay," he replied still sounding unsure as he picked carefully popped open the service panel.

He poked at Zim's PAK for over an hour, not really finding any that looked seriously wrong. The mechanism that controlled the legs as well as the communicator and arms that brought out weapons and tools stored in the PAK had been dislodged. Most likely by the blow he received when trying to escape the base.

It hadn't been that difficult for Skoodge to slot it back into place and reconnect the cable that supplied the power.

"There, that's the best I can do," he stated as he closed up the PAK and started cleaning up his tools.

Zim sat upright and stretched a little, loosening up the muscles that had become tight from being hunched over for so long. He tried to call out a tool and his relief the PAK complied almost instantly, bringing forth the item he desired. Getting to his feet he called out the legs, they also appeared quickly and he used them to walk towards the bathroom. When he reached the doorway he laughed and turned to face the living room, only making it halfway before the legs unexpectedly crumpled beneath him and he dropped to the floor like a stone.

"Zim!" Skoodge cried as he rushed to his fallen friend's side, he hit the emergency retract button and the legs sucked back into the PAK with a metallic whoosh before easing him carefully to his back. His eyes were closed and he was pale and completely unresponsive.

In desperation he smaller Irken lightly slapped his cheeks, and then shook him a few times when he didn't respond.

"Damn it Zim I'm a scientist not a medical drone," he cursed. When Zim still didn't wake Skoodge ran a hand over his bare scalp, "Oh Irk, I've killed him."

"Ugh." The pained groan was quiet but it was enough to cause Skoodge's face to light up like Christmas morning. "Skoodge," he whispered weakly, "I need assistance." The admittance left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Hearing the defeated tone made Skoodge's spooch hurt, and as gently as he could, he scooped Zim off of the floor and carried him back to the living room. His increased height didn't cause any problems for Skoodge and he was able to carry him easily, setting him on the sofa just as he fell unconscious again.

TBC.

Jur – The Armenian word for 'water'

* Where I live elementary school is kindergarten to 5th grade. Middle school is 6th – 8th, and high school is 9th – 12th. In the beginning of the series Dib is 11 which would put him in 4th or 5th grade depending on when his birthday is, so regardless of what grade they were in when in Ms. Bitters' class, Zim is due to start 9th grade in the fall thus making it three full years since he left elementary school.

*Yes, that absolutely was a Star Trek reference.


	6. Chapter 6

Lugubrious

Part 6

The flight had been long and incredibly boring. His phone had died while he was still in the airport and he hadn't been able to locate a free outlet before it was time to board his flight, leaving him without any form of entertainment for the entire journey.

it was no surprise that no one had been there to meet him when he landed, so he hailed a taxi and settled back for another lengthy ride. It took nearly an hour to get home from the airport, it was early evening when the cab arrived to the edge of his neighborhood and he sat up a little to take a look and see if anything had changed while he had been away.

The driver apparently wasn't familiar with the area and took a wrong turn that forced him to turn around when they reached the dead end that was the cul-de-sac where Zim's base stood. There was something odd about the strange little house. But before he could figure out exactly what seemed off about it, the taxi had turned and was driving away.

The driver managed two more wrong turns before finally reaching his home and the meter was now nearly twice what the fare should have been, it was clear the driver had be padding the meter, so out of irritation he paid just the fare. Realizing he wasn't going to get a tip, the driver dumped his bag on the street. Dib scarcely had the door closed before the cab pulled away, leaving him standing alone on the darkening street.

He glanced over at the empty house with its dark windows and sighed deeply before hoisting the strap of his bag on to his shoulder and turning for the walk. The blue security fencing crackled as he passed and the porch light came on as he approached but no sounds came from inside.

The door opened with a soft sound after he punched in the code and as he suspected, no one was home either. His father was, of course at work and Gaz was who knew where.

Despite her tendency to become absorbed in her video games she was as brilliant as any other Membrane and had managed to skip the 7th grade, putting her in the same grade, and many of the same classes as Dib during their last year in middle school. She had made a few friends early on and as a result spent more time with them than she did at home.

Not that their father really noticed, but she always managed to turn up at just the right time to be home before he was, to receive her allotment of attention then she would disappear again.

Still carrying his bag he went into the kitchen in search of something to eat. It was clear that no one had shopped in a while but the cheese looked okay. The bread really was too stale to be eaten, but he was too hungry and tired to care, so he used it anyway.

Meal in hand he climbed the stairs up to his room, set his sandwich on the corner of his desk and dropped his duffle bag on the floor before stretching out on his bed with a tired sigh. He twilighted for several minutes and probably would have fallen asleep but his protesting stomach made him move. So with a sigh he rolled out of bed and dropped to the floor with a practiced ease.

Moving to his computers he initiated the start up sequence, entering a multitude of pass codes, he then started unpacking while the computer booted up.

After being shut down for nearly two months it took several long moments before everything was up and running smoothly. He ignored the OS update notification in favor of checking the Eyeball forums and ate his sandwich while he scanned the boards for anything interesting.

There was a message from Agent Tunaghost concerning the near simultaneous disappearance of almost a thousand people from all over North America. After piecing together the information including statements from various sources, all of the people seemed to have vanished around noon local time, yesterday.

"Interesting," Dib mumbled around a mouthful of his crumbling sandwich as he made a few notes.

He read through a few more posts and when he didn't find anything else of interest he moved on to his email.

There were only two messages. Granted he had checked it on his phone before boarding the plane, but after all this time there should have been something more.

"Wow, I'm popular," he muttered sarcastically as he clicked the first one. It was mass message post from his new high school reminding students of a 'meet and greet' ordination event Friday evening. New students were encouraged to come and collect their class schedules, take a tour of the school, and meet their new teachers. Deelishus Weenie was sponsoring the event so wieners and drinks were being offered as an incentive.

The second message was from Gaz dated earlier that day. All it said was 'See you tonight, dork.'

With a smile he closed his email and clicked the icon to open the monitoring devices he had placed in Zim's lab. He had planted nearly a hundred over the years and though Zim had found most of them, there were 6 well hidden ones that had never been discovered.

Unfortunately none of which had been placed anywhere that gave Dib any concrete evidence that could be used against the green invader, and to be honest, Dib had sort of lost interest over time.

His current relationship with the alien was odd. They weren't friends, far from it actually but they both seemed to lose interest in fighting each other as well. They hardly spoke, and as they didn't share any classes during 8th grade, for the last year they only really saw each other in passing. Zim had completely stopped eating meals at school as well, so they didn't even see each other then.

Though he was pretty certain Zim was no longer a real threat to Earth, some habits were hard to break.

He likened his obsession to a hyper fixation that petered out around the 7th grade. Sure he was still concerned that Zim could be a threat to Earth, hence the continual monitoring, but nothing Zim had done had ever really amounted to anything so the all encompassing need to protect the Earth just wasn't there anymore.

"What!" he exclaimed in surprise when the feed opened and he found a shocking red 'X' on 5 of his 6 devices. After years of going undiscovered they had been found and completely disconnected.

The 6th device had a question mark in a yellow triangle indicating that it was still receiving power but was currently offline. Clicking the device information he found that this was the only one he had placed up in the house. He had managed to hide it inside one of the TV's in the living room and had it pointed towards the opposite wall in hopes of catching Zim speaking to his leaders on the screen hidden behind the green monkey painting above the couch.

So far all he had managed to catch on that one was Gir and on occasion, Zim, watching TV. And somehow they had both been in their disguises, every single time. He quickly checked the logs and found that all of the devices had gone down on the same day about three weeks ago and nothing of significance had been recorded on any of the drives.

He the trouble shooter to see if it could be reconnected remotely, but after the program was completed he had been notified that no errors could be found. With a deep frown he sat back in his chair and stared at the series of red 'X's' wondering what could have happened.

"How could he have suddenly found all six of my devices and dismantle them after they had been in place for so long?" He mused out loud. If his taxi hadn't gone right past Zim's base he would have been concerned that Zim had left for some reason, but knowing the base was still there put that idea to rest.

"Perhaps he ran a sweep that actually worked this time?" plausible but somehow he doubted that was what happened.

Leaning forward he began typing away again, determined to find out exactly what had happened.

He was deep in his own technical world when Gaz appeared in his doorway. She watched him for a while before going over and flicking his ear.

"Hey," he shouted in surprise, spinning around to face her, a hand pressed to his stinging ear.

She just gave him a level look then said in her usual monotone, "Welcome home."

Thanks Gaz," Dib replied he replied sincerely, anger at the surprisingly painful greeting now forgotten.

"Dad's going to meet us at Bloaty's in a half an hour; I'll wait for you downstairs. "she was already walking down the hall before the words had completely left her mouth.

He glanced back at his screens and with a frustrated groan at his lack of progress; he set the computer to finally download the OS update and then went down to see his sister.

The past day had been difficult for the two former invaders, though Zim had regained consciousness just minutes after his sudden collapse on the kitchen floor; he had been so completely drained of energy he could hardly speak.

Skoodge had pleaded with him to accept medical help from his ship, but even in his weakened state he was adamant that no off planet communication be made from his base. The warning from the Tallest was still too fresh in his mind, his devotion to them still so deeply engrained that he didn't dare disobey them again and risk a second retaliation.

Though Skoodge was greatly concerned, he respected his friend's wishes and spent the remainder of that day settled in a chair watching Zim sleep.

It had been a strange feeling knowing that Zim actually required sleep. Irkens didn't need to and only slept as a luxurious reward, one that usually only the Tallest got to enjoy.

Physical weaknesses were also something foreign to the former invader. As he watched over his friend he thought back on his training and remembered some things that he had put out of his mind, no matter the height or age of the individual, if a student showed any sign of weaknesses they were sent to the medical drones for treatment, it wasn't uncommon for editions to be made, like ocular implants, if they were deemed necessary, but he remembered several of their classmates going to receive treatment and never coming back. Knowing what he knew now about how the Empire was run, he could safety assume that they had been killed.

Zim slept fitfully throughout that night, his recovery seeming to take longer than either had expected. The only sign of improvement, albeit a small one, came after Skoodge managed to get his friend to eat something.

"I really wish you would let me call my ship and have someone send a medical scanner." Skoodge said for possibly the fifteenth time since Zim woke up, "There might be something more we can do that we haven't figured out yet."

Zim sat on the sofa in a nest of blankets, his eyes focused on whatever is was that was playing on the TV. He didn't reply at first, his mind working over the problem, the pros and cons of allowing Skoodge contact his ship and what repercussions might happen if the Tallest were monitoring his home like they said they would be.

"Perhaps with your assistance we could upgrade my computer," Zim said quietly and Skoodge turned to him in surprise, he had been quiet for so long he didn't think Zim was going to answer him. "I have many of the necessary components but no way to assemble them."

"Of course," Skoodge replied eagerly. "You're welcome to use anything I have that have!" he had pre arranged his pickup with Bob before the other Irken had taken Ms. Bitters to the ship. Someone would be back to collect him in just a few days, with the setback they were now facing he didn't think it was going to be enough time, but if Zim was going to stay on Earth then Skoodge was going to do everything he could to ensure that his friend could manage alone and hope that in time he would accept what he was offering and join the Resisty.

"I forgot how good you were at this," Skoodge commented as he watched Zim connect a wire from what had once been Skoodge's communicator to the circuit board of Zim's dismantled computer. When they had first hatched in the Smeeterie Zim's PAK had been encoded for science but he had shown a natural knack for engineering so much so that some of their instructors wondered if he had been assigned to the wrong field, but he had been equally skilled in the sciences and excelled in the academy. It was only after he had graduated and began training to be a soldier that he began acting oddly.

Zim didn't respond to the compliment as he poked at the delicate interior of the computer.

Nearly every piece of Vortain technology that Skoodge had had on him had been sacrificed for the cause, allowing Zim to upgrade his computer again. He lost his wrist computer and part of his communicator, even his holographic disguise generator but in the end Zim had a hand held computer that was technically more advanced than anything he could assemble using human equipment, plus with everything being either human or Vortain, there wasn't much chance of the Empire being able to pick up on the device's use unless Zim attempted to contact off Earth life, and most importantly it was going to be stable.

Before Zim couldn't move it from where he kept it in the kitchen. Now he would be able to transport it like any other portable device.

Skoodge's mind wandered a bit while Zim worked and he thought back to when his friend collapsed, he hoped the new upgrades work and they would be able to find out exactly what was going on with Zim's body shell and why it kept shutting down the way it did.

"There," Zim stated, snapping Skoodge out of his contemplations. "It will need time to reconfigure the new system before it can be tested but it should work."

"Excellent, what do you want to do while we wait?"

"I-" he hesitated for a second. "I need another nap."

Skoodge nodded in understanding and rose, helping Zim to the sofa. He looked far from happy as he sat in his nest of blankets, but it was clear that he needed the sleep, even if he didn't like to admit it.

It didn't take long for him to drop off after he was settled on the couch, so Skoodge grabbed the other bag of dirty laundry, pulled Zim's hat on and left his friend to sleep.

He dropped the laundry bag off at the Fluff n' Fold before popping into the small organic market Zim ordered his food from. After picking up the food order he killed time until the laundry was done by watching the humans for a while. He didn't have much experience with them, but learned very quickly that they were a fascinating and diverse species.

They seemed to be able to make so much from so little. It was clear that they were rising quickly with their advancements in technology, though they were millions of years behind most everyone else. He people watched until the laundry was ready, then picked it up and headed back to Zim's house.

"I'm back!" Skoodge called out when he didn't see Zim on the couch where he had left him. He set the bag of laundry on the chair then carried the other bag, full of groceries, into the kitchen.

He could hear the water running in the bathroom so quickly put the groceries away then went back to the living room and started putting Zim's clothing away as well.

"Feeling better?" he asked when Zim appeared in the doorway several minutes later.

It still gave him a sense of awe whenever Zim stood near him. As an Irken it was so deeply ingrained to be respectful to those taller than oneself and Zim was much taller than he was now, though his height was below average compared to the other bipeds on the planet, he was still impressive by Irken standards. However it was also the way Zim treated him that gave him this feeling. He had never once been disrespectful or mistreated him for his own amusement, and often went out of his way to let Skoodge know how grateful he was for all he had done and for his help over the last several days.

"Yes, the heat helped soothe the pain from the bruising," Zim replied as he turned to toss his towel on the table.

When he has collapsed he had hit the floor with enough force to cause a rather impressive bruise on his shoulder and it stood out a dark brownish-purple against his paler jade skin.

Prolonged pain was also something Irken's never had to think about and to see visible proof days after being injured bothered Skoodge, but he did his best to hide his concern, he didn't want to irritate his friend with unwanted fussing, again.

"Is the computer working yet?" He was going to have to leave regardless of whether he was ready to, but his commander needed him and someone would be coming for very soon, however he was not going to go until the computer was functional and they were able to run more thorough medical testing on Zim and run a proper diagnostic of his PAK.

If the computer showed that Zim's health would be in danger if he were left alone, then Skoodge was going to make him come back to the 'Unity' with him, using force if necessary. Tallest be damned.

"Yes," Zim replied. "I checked it before I got in the shower."

"Let's get started then."

Zim nodded and sat on one of the kitchen chairs dressed in just a pair of pajama bottoms that were beginning to look a little high-water. Skoodge connected the cable to the port in the PAK then started the process running. It didn't take long for the first error notification to appear.

Skoodge squinted at the screen, as a large part of the computer had been made using human components the text on the screen was in English. Though he had managed to pick up the spoken language well enough over the past short while, he still could not read or write it well enough to make out all of what it said; however the bright red exclamation point flashing on the screen was clear enough.

"What does it say?" He asked of Zim when a smaller dialogue box popped up.

"The program is requesting that I supply a blood sample, there was something found in the fluids circulating through my PAK and the computer needs to analyze it before it reaches the filters."

Skoodge frowned. "How do we do that?" he asked. "Getting the blood would be easy enough but we don't have any way to actually get it into the computer."

Sliding the computer closer, Zim began typing looking for a solution. A few moments later the computer beeped.

"It says that I should inject the sample into one of the tubes in my PAK after the first filtration process, it can then read it before it reaches the second stage of filters."

"Won't introducing unfiltered blood cause more problems?" Skoodge asked, worry clearly present in his voice.

"As long as it is added between the first and second filters, Computer assures that the amount is so small that it won't cause any adverse reactions."

Skoodge still looked worried but reached for the small Irken medical kit anyway and pulled out a needle and syringe.

Zim's eyes stayed focused on the information scrolling on the screen while the other Irken drew the blood and opened the access panel of the PAK looking for the right tube.

"I found it," He said and called for him to wait a moment while he finished reading through the information. He typed a few commands on the computer and a few seconds later the pale pink fluid stopped moving through the tube he held.

"Inject it now," Zim stated and the instant the syringe was empty the fluids began circulating again.

Skoodge closed the manual access and went to throw the used needle away; when he returned a moment later new information was already appearing on the screen

Skoodge watched his friend in worry as a frown appeared on Zim's face.

"What does it say now?"

"My iron and glucose levels are dangerously low, and this is the most likely cause for my collapse. Apparently my body-shell can't maintain adequate levels on its own and the more physical exertion I do the faster the levels drop, primarily the glucose." He ran a hand over his head and down one antenna as he read on. "In humans these conditions are called hypoglycemia and anemia and can be helped with diet and medication, which would explain why I seem to recover more quickly after eating."

"So what do we do to fix it?"

"Computer suggests I try human supplements and adjust my meals and eating habits. In time as my body-shell continues to adjust, I might be able to wean off of the supplements. Computer also strongly suggests that I do not use the tools in my PAK again, at least until I can function without the supplements. To do so will most likely cause another collapse."

"Well," Skoodge said as he stood and removed the cable before facing his friend. "Write down what you need and where I can find it and I'll go out right now and get it for you."

"There's no need, Computer can order it for me have have it sent to the house."

"But you wouldn't get it until tomorrow at the earliest. The sooner you get it the sooner it can start working." He didn't want to say why he wanted Zim to have what he needed now, but he suspected his friend knew that it had to do with Skoodge's pending departure.

"Very well," Zim relented and scribbled the items Computer recommended and held up the paper, which was immediately snatched out of his hand. "You can find the items in the pharmacy section of the food market."

Skoodge smiled broadly and went back into the living room. He didn't stop, heading straight for the door only pausing long enough to pull the hat on again before stepping outside.

The market was just a few blocks away so the other Irken was back just twenty minutes later, "I hope you don't mind but I bought you a few other things," he said as he came through the door. "One of the service dro- I mean employees suggested a few food things that supplemented iron naturally. I hope they are things you can…" he trailed off as he entered the kitchen as saw Zim's S.I.R. unit lying on the table attached to the computer.

Zim didn't turn to greet him and when Skoodge rounded the table and saw the look on his face he nearly dropped the shopping bag, "Irk, what's wrong?"

""The Tallest sent a surge pulse through the house, his R.E.S. and power cell are completely beyond repair. I can't fix him." Zim replied quietly.

The Computer theorized that the Tallest must have run a power pulse through the base to disable any remaining equipment after the recall. Most of the damage to his PAK was caused by this event, but because the basic life support in the PAK was more biological than mechanical it remained intact which was why he was still alive, Gir however wasn't as fortunate. The only reason the computer was still working was because Zim had managed to copy the computer's A.I. onto a compatible memory slug.

It was uncommon for an Invader to become attached to a S.I.R., they were tools that could, under most circumstances be easily replaced. He knew Gir was different, as was Zim, and for him to lose his only true companion was making Skoodge's spooch ache.

Zim's eyes shifted to the computer again, reading the words shown there. There it was, printed clearly on the computer screen.

The Tallest had tried to kill him.

He didn't want to believe it, but as hard as it would be he needed to accept it as the fact it so clearly was, and move on. Easier said than done.

Skoodge swallowed down the lump in his throat and after setting the bag on one of the chairs he pulled Zim into a one armed hug. He was where Zim was now, he had to accept that the Tallest had meant for him to die. Once he had, he had been able to focus all of his devotion and training to the cause and had become a better person for it.

"If you would like," he began tentatively, "I could take Gir with me and see if our engineers could repair him. I'm not sure when I would be able to return him to you but at least there would be a chance."

Zim was quiet and seemed deep in thought as he sat within the loose curl of Skoodge's arm, but after a moment he replied, "No. I think I would like to keep him here with me."

Skoodge nodded in understanding, "I'll look around and see if there is any Vortain power cells that are S.I.R. compatible and send them to you just as soon as I'm able." He leaned away from Zim for a moment to pick up the bag which he opened and pulled a warm service deli box out. "The female at the store said this is rich in iron and apparently better than the iron tablets, but I got them anyway along with the glucose tablets the computer recommended."

Zim examined the box and found what looked and smelled like chicken strips though the label said they were 'vegan'. He had heard that word before but hadn't paid it any mind, but after reading through the long list of ingredients he found they were complete made from vegetation.

Skoodge looked a little disappointed when after a taste it was clear Zim didn't like them but ate them anyway. He still decided to wait to take the supplements until morning; he said he wanted to see if there was any reaction when taken on an empty stomach. Especially as he was most likely going to have to take them each morning before class when he started back to school.

That reminded him, "There is an orientation on Friday at the school I will be attending soon. We are encouraged to bring family. Would you like to come as my family?"

A massive smile spread across Skoodge's face, "I would be honored."

TBC…


End file.
